~ A Layman's Look At The Gospel

The Bible….The Christian Dictionary

Last week my Pastor shared the fact that we, people of the faith are facing more and more attacksand even the very structures we worship in are being destroyed or desecrated. Even more disturbing is the increased attacks on anything of moral value that might be advocated by the faith of an individual or religious organization. We have become rather docile to the current stream of written and verbal abuse of the faith. Anything that can marginalize our Lord, the church and now the use of open hostility toward God’s people is an accepted social norm. This trend has now evolved to the next step. Physical violence is an unfortunate reality in many parts of the world and here at home we are seeing an increase in such activity. What is the proper Christian response to those who demean, threaten and go as far as to destroy property and use physical violence as a way to intimidate those of the faith? Well, the “answer my friend” is not blowing in the wind, you will find it in the word. We will take that up at another time in the pew. One way the world comes against us is the use of words that are used to hurt or confuse the believers.

I want to look at one word that is often mistakenly associated with being a Christian. The word weak, has a totally different meaning when Godly attributes are applied to it. If we apply the secular definitions to this word it can be misleading to those outside the faith.

Dictionary Definition: weak –The primary sense of the root is to yield, fail, give way, recede, or to be soft.

The point I wish to share today is simply that as Christians we are called out to be different and while it might be a stretch to get there, I used this reasoning to arrive at the thought that it might be we view the world and the words we use differently than some others. While the word weak, denotes a condition and position of negative meaning, in God’s eyes it is one of opportunity. In 2 Corinthians 12 we see this in verses 9 and 10.

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.(ESV)

Weakness comes in many shapes and forms but it brings with it to the Christian, the grace of God. To Paul came the promise and the reality of the all sufficient grace. For Paul it was…

It was sufficient for physical weariness.

It was sufficient for physical pain.

It was sufficient for opposition.

It made him able, as all this letter shows, to face slander.

(William Barclay, DBS, pg 307)

We are subject to the burdens of life, all of us, but just as Paul discovered there is this wondrous grace available to those of the faith. Our weakness is God’s opportunity. Please take the time to follow up on this weeks blog by going to the link below for a wonderful read of faith.